The Rural Voice, 2001-09, Page 42. Open spindle design shows calf well and
allows for increased ventilation.
• Pen can also be designed with snap lock
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TARA
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more information contact your local BSM Dealer:
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LUCKNOW
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MILDMAY
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WELLESLEY
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BSM Agri Ltd. R.R. e4 Arthur, ON, Canada NOG 1A0
Tel.: (519) 848-3910 Fax (519) 848-3948
DRAYTON
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(519) 638-3022
WALTON
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(519) 345-2734
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517 Brown St., Wiarton (519) 534-1200 1-800-265-6224
38 THE RURAL VOICE
Wiarton sale also can't offer the kind
of volume discounts on fees that
some private sales barns do, he says.
Jt does provide a responsive
organization for buyers, however.
A few years ago the directors felt
it would be fair to tack on some
additional fees, similar to those
charged by private sales arenas, for
cattle sold through the sale. Members
quickly made it known they were not
pleased and the fees were dropped.
In these days when co-operatives
are disappearing one -by -one is there
a future for the Grey -Bruce Livestock
Co-operative?
The increasing size of farming
operations has played a part in the
reduced number of cattle going
through the fall sales, Cunningham
says. Some Grey and Bruce cow -calf
operators have as many as 300-500
cows on their farms meaning they
have large enough crops of calves
that feedlot operators deal with them
directly, instead of having to pool
their cattle with other producers to
Larger cow -calf
operators often deal
directly with feedlots
provide the numbers required by
feedlots.
Still, there are many smaller
producers for whom the sale remains
a valuable tool in getting good prices
for their cattle.
The yards are also old and there is
no provision for handling large bales
of hay for feeding the cattle. As long
as enough hay is still available in
small bales this is an inconvenience
but not a major problem,
Cunningham says. It may be that
sometime in the future the directors
have to stop providing feed as other
sales have.
Despite problems with declining
numbers and declining volunteers,
Cunningham sees the Wiarton Feeder
Sale being a part of the beef cattle
landscape for the foreseeable future.
There probably won't be huge
changes either. Each year the
directors look at making changes but
generally they end up carrying on the
sale just the way it has been
operating for years, he says.
After all, when something's been
working well for 50 years, how much
do you need to change it?0